1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a die clamping apparatus that is applicable to an injection molding machine, a press machine, a die casting machine, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
One example of a die clamping apparatus in the prior art is shown in FIGS. 16 to 19.
In these figures, reference numeral 1 designates a fixed die plate, numeral 2 designates tie bars, numeral 3 designates a fastening side fixed panel, numeral 4 designates a die clamping cylinder, numeral 5 designates a base, numeral 6 designates a movable die plate, and as a result of actuation of the die clamping cylinder 4 the movable die plate 6 moves on the base 5. The movable die plate 6 has the configuration shown in the figures, and it is supported from liners 20 laid on the base 5 via rollers 7 provided at the bottom of die plate 6 without being suspended by the tie bars 2.
In addition, in the lower portion of the movable die plate 6 is formed a recess 8 defined by a bottom surface inclined in the direction of movement as shown in FIG. 18, and in this recess 8 is fitted an adjustor block 9 carrying the above-mentioned rollers 7 and provided with an inclined surface having the same gradient as the aforementioned bottom surface so as to be held in contact therewith, with appropriate gaps or spaces maintained between the adjustor block 9 and the opposite end walls of the recess 8. Furthermore, adjacent the opposite end surfaces of the adjustor block are provided adjusting bolts 10 and 11 respectively penetrating through the opposite end walls of the recess, so that the position of the adjustor block 9 may be adjusted by bolts 10 and 11, and as a result, the height of the movable die plate 6 may be finely adjusted. Reference numerals 12 and 13 designate adjusting nuts respectively mated with the bolts 10 and 11.
On the other hand, on the opposite side surfaces of the lower portion of the movable die plate 6 are disposed adjustor blocks 14 and 15, respectively, which are mounted to the side surfaces via mutually inclined contact surfaces as best seen in FIG. 19, and guide rollers 16 and 17 rotatably supported by adjustor blocks 14 and 15, respectively, are held in contact with guide plates 18 and 19, respectively, which are mounted on the base 5 parallel to the tie bars 2. Accordingly, the position in the lateral direction of the movable die plate 6 can be finely adjusted by moving the adjustor block 14 and 15 in back or forth directions. The movable die plate 6 the relative position of which has been adjusted in the vertical direction and in the lateral direction in the above-described manner, is moved on the base 5 by the actuation of the die clamping cylinder 4.
The heretofore known die clamping apparatus one example of which has been described above, generally involved the following problems to be resolved:
(1) Generally, in the case of causing movable die plate to advance or retreat while being guided by rollers, as seen in FIGS. 16 to 19, besides the rollers 7 provided at the bottom of the movable die plate 6, normally it further is necessary to provide the guide rollers 16 and 17 on the opposite side surfaces of the movable die plate 6 for the purposes of preventing zig-zag motion thereof during movement, and of adjusting parallelism between the fixed die plate 1 and the movable die plate 6. Accordingly, the guide mechanism requires a large number of parts, and thus there is a tendency that the guide mechanism will be of larger size.
The above-described apparatus shown in FIGS. 16 to 19 is one example of such large-sized guide mechanism in the prior art, wherein guiding of movement of the movable die plate 6 parallel to the plane of the floor is effected by the rollers 7, and restraint of movement within the horizontal plane (prevention of zig-zag motion) is effected by the guide rollers 16 and 17.
(2) On the other hand, whether or not the movable die plate 6 can perform forward and rearward or advance and retreat movements smoothly and precisely is dependent upon the operational precision of the die clamping cylinder 4 for moving the movable die plate 6. In the event that vibration in the vertical direction (rising) of the movable die plate caused by stick-slip and breathing phenomena of the die clamping cylinder 4 is feared, then in addition to the above-mentioned guides, it is necessary to provide another guide for restraining such vibration, will become even and thus the guide mechanism would be more complicated and large-sized.